Review/ Killer Pizza by Greg Taylor

Toby McGill dreams of becoming a world-famous chef, but up until now, his only experience has been watching the Food Network. When Toby lands a summer job at Killer Pizza, where pies like The Monstrosity and The Frankensausage are on the menu, things seem perfect. His coworkers, Annabel and Strobe, are cool, and Toby loves being part of a team. But none of them are prepared for what’s really going on at Killer Pizza: It’s a front for a monster-hunting organization!

As a debut novel Greg Taylor’s Killer Pizza isn’t half bad. The premise, a pizza parlor as a front for an organization that hunts monsters, was cute.  Taylor’s monsters, the Guttatas were inventive too …

A cross between a human and an animal…A hairless, elongated head with a pronounced jaw. Eyes set in deep, dark sockets. Ears …well, the creatures had not ears. Chest abnormally large even for its six-foot tall frame. Fingers and toes, long and muscular and accented by sharp talons… distinctive looking skin. Tough as leather, it was irregularly spotted light and dark, camouflage-like.

I liked Taylor’s characters even if they did seem a bit too stock, pretty but smart girl, tough, but not too bright jock, and Toby, the reluctant hero, round out the trio of protagonists. The story had a decent pace throughout, and the climax was action packed and exciting.

I think Killer Pizza will definitely appeal to the younger middle school grades, because Taylor’s writing consists of simple sentences and vocabulary that is accessible to all readers. In addition, the jaunty dialogue makes for a quick read. There are enough tense and creepy moments that kids who want a little horror in their reading will more than satisfied.